


Queen Anne's Lace

by Drakanin



Series: The Rose Thief Collection [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Fantasy, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, King Geoff, Prince Gavin, king AU, minecraft au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-25 23:46:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12046824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drakanin/pseuds/Drakanin
Summary: The prince had been having some self-doubts of late. The king noticed, and decided to take him on a walk.Takes place after the events in The Rose Thief.





	Queen Anne's Lace

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, okay, I know I said I was done with the Rose Thief, and that I wasn't writing for it anymore. But I was just thinking about a certain flower and I got some inspiration to write this. 
> 
> So I figured, why not post it? I wrote it, so why not share?
> 
> Please enjoy this short little oneshot. :)

“You’ve been withdrawing again,” said the king. Prince Gavin rubbed the scar across his nose and shrugged his thin cloak tighter around him. The early morning was cool with dew, though the sunlight’s twinkling rays promised another warm summer day. Their boots crunched along the dirt path as they strolled through the castle gardens. “Michael says you’ve been hiding form him and Ray.”

It wasn’t framed as a question, but Gavin knew one when he heard one. They passed by one of the rose bushes, and Gavin trailed his fingers over the velvety red blooms. “It’s not right,” he admitted. “That they’ve forgiven me. They shouldn’t! And you shouldn’t either!”

His face felt hot, and he blinked hard to discourage tears. King Geoff kept walking, though, and so did Gavin.

“Who says they’ve forgiven you?”

Gavin stopped for a moment, his eyes boring into Geoff’s back, staring at the rippling ocean-green cape and the golden crown embedded with emeralds and onyx. Geoff ignored his pause, so the prince once more was forced to keep moving through the garden.

“But they’ve said…” Gavin started. “Everyone just…”

“You’ve done an unforgiveable thing, yes,” said Geoff. They passed by a patch of sunflowers, just beginning to turn their brown and yellow faces towards the rising sun. The king passed his hand over them, their heads waving and bobbing at his touch. “However, you have proven yourself a different man than the one who betrayed Michael and Ray. They see that, as I do. Your genuine remorse and repentance soothes any resentment.”

“But I…”

King Geoff cleared his throat, and Gavin cut himself off. The king finally halted his stroll next to a patch of various white flowers, their blooms stark against their green leaves and stems. Geoff reached out to one type of flower and cupped its head in his hand. It was a multitude of tiny white flowers all arranged into a bigger system, like a snowflake resting in the king’s palm.

“Do you know what this flower is?” Geoff asked.

“Queen Anne’s Lace,” Prince Gavin answered promptly. “Bird’s Nest. _Daucus carota._ Your favorite flower.”

“Very good,” Geoff said, smiling softly. “And—did you know? Some people hated me when I had it planted in the royal gardens.”

“They did?” Gavin asked. He wasn’t sure where this was going, but it was easier to talk about flowers than it was to talk about his failures.

“Mm-hmm,” Geoff hummed. “This was before I took you into my home. There are many who consider this flower to be a weed, you know, despite having its uses. Parts of it are edible, for instance, and it helps certain other plants grow better. And yet—a weed it was, to some people.”

Gavin waited for Geoff to continue and rubbed the scar on his nose. The king drew a dagger from a sheath at his hip and cut the stem of the flower, pulling the bloom away. He tucked the dagger away again and turned towards his prince, closing the distance between them.

“My father was a poor farmer,” said King Geoff. He put both hands on either side of Gavin’s head, one hand tucking the flower behind Gavin’s ear. He brushed his thumbs over Gavin’s cheeks and beamed. “You were an orphan with few memories to call your own. When I plucked you from the docks, there were many who were mad at me. A weed, you were.”

The king suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace, squeezed some of the breath out of him. Gavin didn’t react at first, startled by the action.

“I know you feel like a weed now,” Geoff murmured. “But here you are still, in the royal gardens alongside me and my Queen Anne’s Lace. A weed to some, after all, is a beautiful flower to others. I am so proud of how far you’ve come and of who you are now.”

Gavin buried his face into the king’s shoulder, trying and failing to struggle against his tears. With trembling arms, he returned Geoff’s embrace. The scar on his nose itched, and he did not respond.


End file.
